The present invention relates to an apparatus for curing, by drying and/or hardening, layers or coatings, such as printing colors or inks, laminations, etc., that are continuously successively applied to a member. The lowermost, pigment-containing layers are subjected to a thermal treatment via IR radiation, and the uppermost or cover layer, which forms a lamination, is exposed to UV radiation.
IR-reactive colors or inks are being used more and more frequently in the printing industry. These colors, inks, and lacquers dry very rapidly at the surface when irradiated with IR radiation, and are thus dry to the touch and to dust. In order to be able to further treat a carrier member such as paper or cardboard that has been printed with such colors, for example by improving the surface quality of the carrier member with an acrylate coating or lamination, the IR-reactive colors must be completely and thoroughly dried, since otherwise the printing pattern is spoiled due to the fact that the wet color portions run below the lamination in the material of the carrier member. It should be noted that the thorough drying of IR-reactive colors can in extreme cases take several hours.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus with which IR-reactive colors can be intensely dried in such a way that the post treatment of the printed-upon carrier member, for example a lamination thereof, can be undertaken immediately, i.e. without a transition time, after the IR-treatment without impairing the printing pattern.